civilians

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Sri Lankan Shelling Killed 20,000 Civilians

Photos, UN documents reveal hidden massacre at civil war's end

(Newser) - The final battles of the 26-year civil war in Sri Lanka killed more than 20,000 Tamil civilians, most from government shelling, an investigation by the Times of London concludes. The number of casualties is three times higher than the government admitted. Aerial photographs, eyewitness testimony, and confidential UN documents...

Army: Sri Lanka War in 'Final Stage'

Tens of thousands of civilians trapped; UN envoy arrives

(Newser) - The Sri Lankan government claims to be within 48 hours of capturing the last holdout of Tamil Tigers, as the Red Cross warned of "an unimaginable human catastrophe" for the tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the war zone. Only a few hundred rebels remain in a two-mile-square...

Pakistani Civilians Stuck as 55 Militants Die in War

Curfew curbs residents' flight in 'war of country's survival'

(Newser) - Pakistani troops and warplanes killed at least 55 Taliban militants today in what Prime Minister Raza Gilani is calling a "war of the country's survival," the AP reports. Fighting centered in the northwestern Swat Valley, where a curfew prevented residents from fleeing and the main town has...

US Admits Afghan Raids Killed Civilians

Pentagon reverses earlier claims that Taliban was to blame

(Newser) - American officials acknowledged for the first time yesterday that the US military was responsible for at least some of the 100 recent civilian deaths in western Afghanistan. The air strikes have led to angry protests in Afghanistan and calls for the US to withdraw from the country. While initial military...

Sri Lanka Restarts Airstrikes, Bars Diplomat

Swedish foreign minister refused entry days before trip

(Newser) - The Sri Lankan army bombarded the tiny coastal strip where ethnic Tamil rebels are mounting their last stand, the Guardian reports—a day after the government said it would end airstrikes. Tens of thousands of civilians are trapped in the region. The eruption comes as Sweden’s foreign minister, scheduled...

Sri Lanka Army Ends Combat, Begins Rescue

Civilian deaths keep mounting in civil war's endgame

(Newser) - The Sri Lankan army has announced an end to shelling in the tiny coastal strip where the Tamil Tigers mounted their last stand in the 26-year civil war, CNN reports. The army is set to move in and rescue trapped civilians whose situation the UN has called catastrophic; many were...

6,500 Civilians Dead as Sri Lanka War Nears End

Army, rebels both accused of exacerbating death toll

(Newser) - Nearly 6,500 ethnic Tamil civilians have been killed in the last 3 months of fighting in Sri Lanka, the UN estimates. The level of civilian deaths has increased dramatically as the bloody 26-year civil war draws to a close, with the army pressing Tamil separatists into a tiny coastal...

Pentagon Will Fill Civilian Jobs in Afghanistan

Reservists to fill up to 300 positions intended for nonmilitary experts

(Newser) - The Obama administration is being forced to fill hundreds of new positions designed for civilian experts in Afghanistan with military personnel, mostly reservists, reports the New York Times. The shortfall results from insufficient funds to hire and train nonmilitary people for work in combat zones, and the fact that agencies...

Up to 110K Civilians Flee Sri Lankan War Zone

(Newser) - Thousands more civilians flooded out of the final battlefield in Sri Lanka’s civil war today, bringing the total number of displaced to more than 80,000, Reuters reports. The UN said that number could be as high as 110,000, though only 7,500 had reached refugee camps clear...

Israel Defends Conduct of Gaza War

Cases of excessive force were rare, army says

(Newser) - The Israeli army is defending its actions during the recent Gaza conflict, claiming that, contrary to reports, its soldiers did not act with excessive force or with disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians, the New York Times reports. Officials have moved to discount one story in particular: an...

North Korea Threatens Civilian Flights

South Korean-US military exercise rattles Pyongyang

(Newser) - North Korea said it could not guarantee the safety of civilian flights near its airspace in light of a joint US-South Korean military exercise, the Telegraph reports. The annual exercise, which South Korea and the US say is purely defensive, is for next week. Pyongyang warned that it could not...

Right Groups Cite Evidence of Israeli Phosphorus Use

UN workers say incendiary weapon used to attack Gaza compound

(Newser) - Witness accounts are adding weight to accusations by human rights groups that Israel is violating international law by using white phosphorus as a weapon against civilians, the Guardian reports. Palestinians say the incendiary shells were used to set their homes on fire and doctors report treating patients with injuries clearly...

Georgia Accuses Russia of Bombing Civilians
Georgia Accuses Russia
of Bombing Civilians
updated
Aug 8, 2008 9:56 AM CDT

Georgia Accuses Russia of Bombing Civilians

President says his nation is defending against aggressors

(Newser) - Russian troops are targeting civilians in their assault on Georgia, President Mikhail Saakashvili told CNN today. “This is the worst nightmare one can encounter,” he said. “They've been bombing Georgia from numerous warplanes and specifically targeting (the) civilian population, and we have scores of wounded and dead....

8 Afghan Civilians Killed in US-Led Airstrike

Coalition forces called for air backup during firefight

(Newser) - Eight civilians were killed in a coalition airstrike targeting suspected militants in Afghanistan's western province of Farah, Reuters reports. The deaths occurred after American-led forces called for air backup during a roadside firefight Tuesday. A military statement said that officials "deeply regret any occurrence such as this." There...

Mexican Troops Accused in Drug War Deaths

Military responsible for deaths of 13 unarmed citizens

(Newser) - Mexicans increasingly accuse state troops of beating and murdering innocents on their mission to curb violent drug cartels, Time reports. Since the state assigned 25,000 soldiers to fight drug-runners 2 years ago, troops have killed at least 13 unarmed people—while traffickers have added 1,800 more to the...

US Troops Kill 9 Iraqi Civilians
US Troops Kill
9 Iraqi Civilians
Feb 4, 2008 5:40 AM CST

US Troops Kill 9 Iraqi Civilians

Houses bombed during hunt for al-Qaeda suspects: Iraqi police

(Newser) - American military forces accidentally killed nine Iraqi civilians and injured three during raids south of Baghdad Saturday, US officials revealed today. The incident occurred near Iskandariyah, when a helicopter air strike was ordered on a checkpoint after a convoy of US troops in pursuit of Al Qaeda in Iraq came...

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